:October 1st, XX46; Tuesday.

:NEW WORLD.

•~~~~•

Joe slumped down in his usual study hall seat right next to Sage, the two of them having just came over there from lunch. They both got out their computers and shared a dissatisfied look.

"I'm so bored of school today," Sage complained. "I just wanna go home. I also can't stop thinking about astrology-related shit today."

"Well, that's not surprising," Joe chuckled. That was really all he ever talked about sometimes, not that Joe minded. He liked listening to people rant about their interests, especially his best friend. "What's going on lately that's making you think about it?"

"Apparently I might learn something new about one of my friends near the end of this week... it's not supposed to be good or bad, just new. You're not hiding anything from me, are you, Joe?" Sage smirked, doing air quotes on the italicized word.

Joe chuckled, and then his mind turned to Remy. Right... Sage didn't know Joe could talk to ghosts yet. Was that a sign Joe should just tell him now?

"Hah... no, I mean I don't think I am, at least. Could be anything, anyone."

"True."

The bell rang, which meant the two had to start working, though the supervisor of their study hall hadn't shown up to the classroom yet. Joe went on his Google Classrooms page, and remembered he had math homework that was due next period. He glanced up- right, supervisor wasn't in yet. He turned to Sage.

"You busy?" Joe asked.

"I'm busy tapping my pencil against my leg because I have nothing else better to do, why?"

"I forgot to do my math homework and I don't feel like doing it alone," Joe smiled sheepishly. Sage rolled his eyes.

"We're not even in the same math class, you're in the smarter one. What makes you think I can help?"

"Hey, being in Algebra 3 instead of Honors Pre-Calc doesn't make you dumb. Come on, just give it a look."

"Algebra 3 and Pre-Calculus are very different. And you're in honors. You're special."

"Honors doesn't make me special. Can you at least check that my handwriting is legible?"

"Fine, I can do that, sure."

Joe went and did his math homework for about half an hour, which took up most of his 45 minute period. He was surprised he got it done so quick, but the teacher had been slightly nicer to them than usual and gave them all less homework than they usually received. Sage said that if he could read it, the teacher could read it, so Joe shoved the paper into his bag and marked the assignment as done on Google Classrooms. By then, the study hall supervisor had actually arrived, so he quickly asked to go to the bathroom so he could un-fog his mind from the math.

He got out of the classroom and walked across the hall to the men's restroom, being briefly reminded of the time he got a skirt for Christmas and only wore it once because the feeling he got from it was too confusing. Upon entering the bathroom, he immediately came face to face with Remy and his husband.

"Hey, kid."

Joe blinked a few times at him- why was he following him around now? Was that what was happening?- and quickly looked towards all the other stalls to try and decipher if they were all empty or not.

"Oh, chill out, you're alone in here. No other living beings."

"...Uh, hi, then."

"We'll leave if you actually need to go but I'm assuming you just wanted to get out of class, right?"

Joe sighed. "I'm in study hall, I just needed a break because Pre-Calculus hurts my mind."

"Pre-Calculus?!" Remy lowered his sunglasses and looked at him from the top, before clearing his throat and placing them on the top of his head. "Gurl, I was in Geometry in 11th grade. What are you even doing?"

"I couldn't tell you, I have no idea."

Joe checked the time on his phone and sighed, walking over to a sink and splashing his face with water.

"When's your math class?" Emile asked.

"Next period."

"Oh, great. Guess that'll answer my question. If I understand a single fucking word."

•~~~~•

"I guess today is just a day for teachers not to show up on time," Joe mumbled to himself as the bell rang in his science class. Oliver hummed next to him.

"Yeah, my English teacher was a minute late last period."

"And my study hall supervisor didn't show up for half the class," Joe chuckled. "Well, hopefully Mrs. Digg will show up here, I think she's gonna teach us how to use punnet squares."

"Punnett squares?" Oliver said, and apparently Remy at the same time too, because that's what Joe heard on the other side of him.

"Yep. You got your ancestory results back, right?"

"Yeah. Were yours cool? Or- your father's, rather?"

Joe blinked a few times, and then he snickered. "Oh wow, I forgot to tell you and Sage. Hold on, I have a picture of the results, I'll send it in the groupchat so Sage can see too."

"Ah, you're gonna tell them I'm your uncle, hmm? Nice," Remy chuckled.

💃Homosapiens🕺
12:43 PM

So I got some big news
with my ancestry👀>

Oliver🥰
<👀👀

Y'all won't believe this😌>

Sageroonie
<omg bitch spillll
<🫖

Soooo...>
[Attatchment: 1 Image]>
This was of my father's DNA btw>

Oliver🥰
<WHAR
<*WHAT
<WAIT THATS REMY RIGHT??
<YOU'RE JOKING NO WAY

APPARENTLY MY FATHER'S MOM
CHEATED ON MY GRANDPOP
AND SOMEHOW THAT MADE
REMY MY FATHER'S
HALF-BROTHER????>

Sageroonie
<OMG JOSEPH LETS GOOO
<HE GOT TWO DEAD UNCLES NOW
<imagine your uncle literally
murdering your other uncle lol

Oliver🥰
<Couldn't be Joe😔

HAHDKSHE Y'ALL SHUT UP,
MY PARENTS ALMOST
CRIED IM NOT JOKING>

Sageroonie
<Well, if we've learned
anything here, it's that
your dad has a thing
for serial killers...
<And people related to them😌😏

SAGE>
STAP>

Oliver🥰
<Well I guessssssss we still
don't know if they actually did
date tho... we can only hope😣

Sageroonie
<🤭

uhm about that,,>

Oliver🥰
<...
<NO WAY
<NO WAY
<OMG SHOW ME THE
PROOF RIGHT NOW

Sageroonie
<[Attatchment: 1 Image]
<I found photo this in my attic,
taken by one of my dads

I DON'T WANNA THINK ABOUT
THAT ANY MORE HABDKSJEIF>

Sageroonie
<day before Remy
got arrested lmao

Oliver🥰
<HAVDJZJEHFIDNSJF
<Okay but no joke your dad
looks so happy in that🥺
<I'm so glad he got to fulfill
his dreams of being with
a murderer😋🥰😍

PLEASE>

Oliver🥰
<🤪

Joe snickered to himself, and Oliver pushed him on the shoulder. Apparently Remy was not looking at Joe's phone, though, he at least understood privacy enough to not watch his nephew text. Joe should maybe ask about him possibly having dated his dad later...

"Oh, kid, are y'all learning punnet squares today? Did you say that?" He suddenly asked. Joe glanced at him and then made a fist with his left hand, nodding it up and down for a moment and then putting his hand back down.

"...And the answer is fist, got it," Remy mumbled.

"No, honey, that was the ASL sign for yes."

"Oh. Oh, mhm, that makes more sense."

"I remember when we learned punnet squares in seventh grade," Emile leaned against his husband. Joe made a mental note that they apparently knew each other when they were kids.

"Hah... yeah. Debating whether our love child would have your beautiful emerald eyes or my boring, generic brown ones."

"They'd have your mochas, because you're beautiful, Remy," Emile took his hand into his own, smiling. Joe made a face and stopping glancing at them- he didn't need to see his uncle- uncles? Emile was technically his uncle, too- being all lovey-dovey right then.

"...Wasn't that also the day you got run over by a car?"

Joe almost choked on air. Run over by a car? Since when had Emile been ran over by a car?!

"Uh... yeah, it was. But hey, at least we're together now, right? I'm right here."

"I know," Joe could hear the smile in Remy's voice. He'd have to ask about that later, too.

•~~~~•

"Alright, everyone, after I come and collect your homework from last night, you're going to be having a pop quiz on Remy Café."

Everyone in the class groaned. Remy blinked a few times, slumped into the seat next to Joe. "A pop quiz, on me? Well, I'm honored. Guess I know why you couldn't pronounce my old last name though, kid."

"You'll all be fine," the teacher chuckled as she picked up her student's homework papers, replacing them with quiz papers. "Only five questions. If you did the homework, you'll be able to answer them."

The quiz paper was placed in front of Joe. He sighed and got out a pencil, writing his name at the top of the paper and then staring at the first question:
How long did Remy Café live?

"I lived for twenty-eight years, Joseph."

"Remy, don't help him, it's a quiz," Emile tugged at his husband's arm.

"Hell yeah it's a quiz, about me. I gurantee they're teaching the wrong shit so I gotta make sure he at least knows the real answers."

Joe concealed a laugh, tapping his pencil a few times on the second question: How many people did he murder?

"Literally no fucking clue, lost count in highschool," Remy leaned back in his chair. "Uhm... well, they know who I am because of the five that died in my senior year and the ten that died after I got out of jail, so just put down fifteen or more, I guess."

Third question. Where did he die?

"In this town I'm pretty sure everyone just calls it Remy's Field, so..."

Who is his most famous victim?

"Famous? Oh, right. Everyone loves Janus, apparently. Janus Foster, that's his last name, since that was Patton's before he got married."

Which one of his most famous victim's relatives did he date in highschool?

"Hah, well I know for a fact that almost no one knows who that was, so just put down that no one knows. But you should probably know that it actually was-"

"He probably already figured it out, Rem. I mean, who else could it have been?"

"Mmh, right. I'll make sure to talk to you about that later, kid."

The pop quiz was turned in soon after that, and the rest of history class went by quick enough, them all just starting to learn about a new serial killer. After Joe got packed up, he started walking home with Sage, along with Remy and Emile, who were trailing along behind them. Joe and Sage chatted for a bit until he got in his house, and the two ghosts stared walking alongside Joe, instead.

"So, kid, what do y'all even do in school these days?"

"What do you mean? You just watched me go through, like, three of my classes."

"You think I was paying attention to the teacher? Hah! Nope. I never did when I was in highschool, either. Had too much shit on my mind."

"Like, what? Murder?" Joe asked, half-joking.

"Exactly."

"...Ah."

"Yup. Damn, highschool was a time. I was just bouncing back and forth from dead body to unhealthy coping mechanism to- well, those were pretty much the same thing. The worst coping mechanism I tried didn't come until senior year, though, and that was your-"

"Oh my- Remy, please get the hell away from him."

Joe, Remy, and Emile all looked up to see another ghost on the sidewalk ahead. Joe stared up at him- he was maybe 6 foot-something tall, wearing a hoodie and a bowler hat. There was a very long scar that went down the right side of his face, and if Joe looked close enough, there was also a slight hole in the side of his neck. He was standing- er, more floating than standing- with his arms crossed and one eyebrow cocked up. There was something familiar about him, but Joe just stood shocked that he could see other ghosts besides Remy and Emile.

"Ah, so we meet again~... how are you this fine afternoon, hmm?" Remy asked.

"I asked for you to get away from him. What are you trying to do?"

"Who are you?"

The ghost turned to look at Joe. He blinked.

"...Me?"

"Yeah?"

"Holy shit- he can see us?"

"Uh, duh?" Remy asked. "Why do you think I was talking to him?"

"We don't know why he can see ghosts, but we came across him maybe a week ago and he could see us," Emile quickly explained.

"I totally care about that explanation. But I don't want you talking to him, Remy."

"Can you tell me who you are?" Joe asked again. The ghost sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment. He looked down at Joe.

Wait... no, he recognized him.

"...My name is Janus. Janus Foster. I'm your uncle."

Joe gasped lightly. "Ohhh, I recognize you now! You're the one he stabbed, right?"

"One of the many... and as your uncle, I think you should stop talking to this man. He is literally a serial killer."

Remy scoffed. "Well, as his other uncle, I think you need to stop being such a petty bitch."

"...Come again?"

Emile chuckled nervously. "So... Joe had to take an ancestry test for a school project, but he got his father- Logan- to take it instead since he's adopted, and through a lot of weird once-in-a-lifetime chances, it turns out Remy is Logan's half-brother."

Janus stared at Remy with wide eyes.

"...No."

"Yeah, that's right, bitch. Now fuck off."

"I'm not going to fuck off. I don't believe you're actually his uncle. And if you are, we both know I'm the more trusted one. If we were alive, who would his parents want to have babysitting him when he was younger? Oh, right- me."

"Literally where does that conclusion lead to? There's probably someone out there that doesn't trust you, either, maybe your now ex-significant other after you died and never texted them back."

"For your information, I'm aromantic."

"Well- goddamnit. I bet you didn't even have any friends that could take the place of that scenario, then."

"I had a few friends, and from what I know, they're doing very well for themselves. I'm just glad all the people I knew eventually got over me after you stabbed me in the neck."

"Oh, stop whining, we all die some day. I just sped up the process a bit for you."

"I-" Janus took a long, deep breath in, and let it out in a way that it almost sounded like a scream. "Okay. I'm done with you. Look, Joe, just- ...be careful. Please."

"Okay..?"

"And... take care of your dad for me."

"Gotcha."

And with that, Janus had vanished as quickly as he had appeared. Joe stood silently for a moment, Remy letting out a sigh behind him.

"That bitch... alright kid, keep walking."

"Why did my parents never tell me you murdered him..?" Joe thought aloud as they kept walking.

"They didn't? Hm, not surprised. Probably just didn't want you to know I ever existed. Guess they didn't think you'd learn about me in school... best not to ask them. They'd just lie to you again."

"Right..."

Soon enough, Joe arrived home, Remy and Emile still trailing behind. Joe's parents were once again in the kitchen, cooking dinner.

"Oh, hey, Joe! You can sit down at the table, dinner is almost ready."

"Dinner? At, like, four in the afternoon?" Remy asked.

"Plot convenience... again," Emile mumbled. Joe took a seat at the table, Remy and Emile standing near him after his parents sat down too.

"How was school?" Joe's dad asked.

"Eh, it was okay. Hey, can I get a tattoo?"

"A tattoo? The kid wants a tattoo?" Remy mumbled. Joe's father sighed.

"Once again, Joe, no."

"I'm just gonna keep asking until you let me get one, you know."

"Well, you'll just have to wait until you're eighteen, because then technically we can't tell you what to do," Joe's dad commented.

"Eighteen? But that's a whole year away... ugh."

"If you do it when you're eighteen, we won't be paying for it, either," Joe's father said, causing Joe to groan again.

"Come on, please?"

"We're changing the subject, Joe."

"Y'all are party-poopers."

Joe's dad giggled. "Well, why was school eh, then?"

"I don't know, it was just one of those days, I guess. We had a pop quiz in history."

"You're gonna make your dad cry if you go too in-depth with that," Remy warned, Emile humming quietly in agreement.

"Oh? What on?"

Ah, shit. Remy was probably right. Joe blinked a few times, looking down at his food for a moment to try and think about what to say.

"Uh... well, we're still learning about serial killers, so..."

"Oh. It was on... oh."

The room went quiet, the only sounds being metal utensils clinking against plates for a good few minutes. A question loomed in Joe's mind, or maybe his throat, because he felt like he just had to ask it. But he shouldn't. He should just swallow it down, and ignore-

"Why did you guys say Uncle Janus got into a car accident?"

-damnit.

Joe's parents both dropped their utensils and looked at him, and Joe sunk back a bit into his chair.

"Because... he was..?" Joe's dad mumbled.

"Joe, drop it," Remy said sternly.

"Well, we learned that, uh... that Remy killed him. He was his most famous victim or something."

Joe's parents both made hasty eye contact. Remy's eyes went wide as well, and he blinked a few times at Joe.

"Kid, you can't just go and drop that on them right now! You should have run that by me!"

"Uhm... code orange, honey?" Joe's dad whispered.

"Oh- and they're still using code systems to hide shit from you, too. Fun."

"It's fine, Patton, we can, uhm..." Joe's father trailed off. Him and Joe's dad both looked back at Joe.

"...Well, yes, it was him, but-"

Joe's dad cut his husband off. "-but that's because he was driving the car, and he purposely... uhm, hit, your uncle."

"Yes, yes, that's true. That's exactly what happened."

...Joe knew that was a lie, that's for sure. They literally learned Janus got stabbed in the side of the neck, his death had nothing to do with a car.

Remy let out a huff. "Uhm, good sir, ma'am, I am gay, I can't drive. How would I have known that son of a goddamn bitch anyways?! And Patton should know full well I never got a license, otherwise I would have driven him back and forth from school that one week we were-"

"Did you learn anything else in school, regarding that, Joe..?" Joe's father unknowingly cut Remy off.

"Uhm... no."

"Good answer," Remy mumbled.

"Alright..."

The rest of dinner was mostly silent, Joe trying to finish his dinner quickly just so he could escape the mildly awkward situation. When he did make it upstairs, he collapsed onto his bed, his ghost companions sitting next to him.

"Why won't they tell me anything?" He asked, sounding mumbled as his face was down on his bed.

"They're probably just trying to protect you, and not doing a very good job at it," Joe felt a cold chill go up his spine and assumed Emile was trying to offer some form of comfort, perhaps rubbing his back even though his hand phased right through him. Joe turned onto his back after a moment, seeing Remy still nodding in agreement to what Emile had said a few moments before.

"...How much do I not know, then?"

Remy laughed. "A lot. Like- a lot. But I'll tell ya exactly what. I know I've been putting it off but I promise, soon. I just don't want them to think you're talking to yourself too much up here. Next time it's just the three of us, mkay?"

Joe smiled a bit. "...Thanks, Uncle Remy."

It felt good to know two adults he could trust.

•~~~~•
So... turns out writing is hard, and I have a lot going on with school lately so I'm gonna have to announce a hiatus. I promise I'll be back as soon as possible, I don't know when but hopefully soon. Love you guys!

See ya in the next chapter!❤️
~Maxx(SanderShipper)